Health
Early Prenatal Care
Source: Arkansas Department of Health
Early Prenatal Care
2022
Arkansas County69%
Ashley County73%
Baxter County71%
Benton County68%
Boone County74%
Bradley County79%
Calhoun County71%
Carroll County57%
Chicot County61%
Clark County80%
Clay County76%
Cleburne County79%
Cleveland County82%
Columbia County67%
Conway County76%
Craighead County73%
Crawford County69%
Crittenden County55%
Cross County74%
Dallas County65%
Desha County79%
Drew County72%
Faulkner County79%
Franklin County66%
Fulton County68%
Garland County71%
Grant County77%
Greene County76%
Hempstead County70%
Hot Spring County73%
Howard County66%
Independence County71%
Izard County70%
Jackson County80%
Jefferson County66%
Johnson County73%
Lafayette County71%
Lawrence County74%
Lee County69%
Lincoln County79%
Little River County72%
Logan County68%
Lonoke County77%
Madison County71%
Marion County73%
Miller County73%
Mississippi County75%
Monroe County61%
Montgomery County64%
Nevada County67%
Newton County85%
Ouachita County58%
Perry County78%
Phillips County52%
Pike County75%
Poinsett County71%
Polk County69%
Pope County72%
Prairie County82%
Pulaski County71%
Randolph County70%
Saline County78%
Scott County72%
Searcy County66%
Sebastian County68%
Sevier County75%
Sharp County66%
St. Francis County65%
Stone County62%
Union County72%
Van Buren County71%
Washington County63%
White County83%
Woodruff County81%
Yell County68%

Source: Arkansas Department of Health







NATIONAL RANKING
46

OUT OF 51
2021

STATE TREND

Increasing


71%

2022
1% = 354
See here for full explanation

What does this measure?

The number of births to women who initiated prenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy (before 13 weeks gestation), expressed as a percentage of all live births.

Why is this important?

Early, high-quality prenatal care is critical to reducing risks for complications of pregnancy or birth and improving birth outcomes.

How is Arkansas doing?

In 2021, 71% of births were to women who began prenatal care early, up from 61% in 2016. This makes Arkansas 46th in the nation on this indicator and 6 percentage points lower than the national rate, at 77%. In 2019, the latest year for which racial/ethnic data was available, whites (73%) had higher rates of utilizing prenatal care than Blacks (65%), Hispanics (61%) and Asians (52%). Rates increased steadily for all ethnicities since 2014.

What contributes to racial and ethnic disparities?

Researchers have uncovered a number of factors contributing to generally lower rates of early prenatal care among mothers of color. These include: socioeconomic characteristics like education and family income; maternal health and characteristics of pregnancies (such as maternal age and number of previous pregnancies); types of insurance coverage - whether women are covered by Medicaid, private insurance, or have no coverage; and the location of prenatal care facilities - in physicians' offices and public health clinics. One study found socioeconomic differences were responsible for roughly half the gap -- pregnant women with lower incomes and levels of formal education often do not have the resources necessary to obtain care early and often - but that public programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children increased access to care.

Notes about the data

National data is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). State and county data are from the Arkansas Department of Health. The CDC and Arkansas identify individuals by their race (white, black, etc.) separately from their ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic). So the totals for these categories cannot be added together, as people show up in both a racial and ethnic group. Due to Arkansas' change to a new birth certificate form in 2014 (the 2003 U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth) used to collect this information, prior years of data are not comparable and excluded from the charts above. Aggregate national numbers for 2014 exclude Connecticut, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. Rhode Island is included in 2015, and all states are included in 2016.




Source: Arkansas Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Early Prenatal Care
201420152016201720182019202220202021
Arkansas56%58%60%66%69%70%71%
United States75%75%76%76%76%77%

Source: Arkansas Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention






Source: Arkansas Department of Health


Early Prenatal Care by Race/Ethnicity
Asian/Pacific IslanderBlackHispanicNative AmericanNon-HispanicWhite
Arkansas52%65%61%64%72%73%

Source: Arkansas Department of Health









INDICATORS TREND | STATE
Education: Access to Quality Slots for Infants and Toddlers Not Applicable
Education: Access to Quality Child Care Slots for Preschoolers Not Applicable
Education: Grade 3 Reading Decreasing
Education: Grade 8 Math Maintaining
Education: Graduation Rate Increasing
Education: Remediation Rate Maintaining
Education: Adults with a High School Degree Increasing
Education: Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Increasing
Education: Adults Pursuing Further Education Decreasing
Education: Imagination Libraries Increasing
Health: Low Birth Weight Babies Not Applicable
Health: Early Prenatal Care Increasing
Health: Overweight or Obese Students Increasing
Health: Overweight or Obese Adults Increasing
Health: Physically Inactive Adults Maintaining
Health: Smoking Rate Decreasing
Health: Insurance Coverage Rates Increasing
Health: Oral Health Increasing
Health: Life Expectancy Decreasing
Health: Routine Check-ups Increasing
Health: Overdose Deaths Increasing
Families: Teen Births Decreasing
Families: Children Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: People Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: Elderly Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: Median Household Income Maintaining
Families: Unemployment Rate Decreasing
Families: Homeownership Rate Decreasing
Families: Child Abuse and Neglect Decreasing
Families: Access to Financial Services Decreasing
Families: Food Insecurity Decreasing
Families: Food Deserts Not Applicable
Families: Homelessness Decreasing
Families: Change in Total Jobs Increasing
Families: Cost of Homeownership Maintaining
Families: Households Below ALICE Threshold Not Applicable
Families: Overall Housing Cost Burden Decreasing
Families: Child Care Costs for Toddlers Not Applicable
Families: Medical Debt Not Applicable
Families: Households Receiving SNAP Decreasing
Families: Incarceration Rate Increasing
Community: Voter Participation Rate Decreasing
Community: Charitable Giving Increasing
Community: Volunteering Increasing
Community: Group Participation Increasing
Community: Connection to Neighbors Decreasing
Community: Local Voting Not Applicable
Demographics: Change in Population Increasing
Demographics: Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Demographics: Change in Population by Age Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Remediation Rate Maintaining
Racial Equity: Adults with a High School Degree Increasing
Racial Equity: Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Increasing
Racial Equity: Adults Pursuing Further Education Decreasing
Racial Equity: Low Birth Weight Babies Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Early Prenatal Care Increasing
Racial Equity: Overweight or Obese Students Increasing
Racial Equity: Overweight or Obese Adults Increasing
Racial Equity: Physically Inactive Adults Maintaining
Racial Equity: Smoking Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Insurance Coverage Rates Increasing
Racial Equity: Oral Health Increasing
Racial Equity: Life Expectancy Decreasing
Racial Equity: Routine Check-ups Increasing
Racial Equity: Teen Births Decreasing
Racial Equity: Children Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: People Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: Elderly Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: Median Household Income Maintaining
Racial Equity: Unemployment Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Homeownership Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Child Abuse and Neglect Decreasing
Racial Equity: Access to Financial Services Decreasing
Racial Equity: Food Insecurity Decreasing
Racial Equity: Homelessness Decreasing
Racial Equity: Cost of Homeownership Maintaining
Racial Equity: Medical Debt Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Households Receiving SNAP Decreasing
Racial Equity: Incarceration Rate Increasing
Racial Equity: Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable








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